The present invention pertains generally to toys and similar devices and particularly to such devices comprising a hollow article such as a ball or balloon which includes an object to be controlled or manipulated by movement of the article.
It is known to construct toys or other similar devices in the form of hollow articles such as balls, balloons, and the like, and to include within such articles other objects for the purpose of making noise or presenting a colorful pattern through motion induced by manipulation of the hollow article. Such toys are of particular use with small children where the objects included within the hollow article are of such a size as to present an invitation to ingestion and, as a result, a clear hazard to the child. The articles may take the form of opaque, translucent or transparent spheres, cylinders, ovoids, or the like. The objects within the articles in the prior art typically have been balls, cubes, or other simple geometrically shaped devices, or shapes representing familiar articles such as animals, faces, etc.
In accordance with the present invention, a hollow article is formed to include a four-wheeled toy vehicle specifically designed to run on the inner surface of the hollow article. The toy vehicle includes four wheels, generally arranged in pairs so that an inner surface of each wheel confronts a similar inner surface of a laterally adjacent wheel. A body means maintains the spacial and directional relationship of the four wheels with respect to each other either directly or by defining the relative position of a pair of axles on which the four wheels are mounted. The body means is preferably dimensioned such that its center of gravity is centrally located between the four wheels. The body means is dimensioned to be wholly included with a spacial envelope defined by lines joining the outer peripheries of the four wheels.
In a particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention, an inflatable balloon is provided with a toy vehicle as generally described above. The toy vehicle is constructed from a generally rectangular sheet consisting of two leaf portions joined by a fold. Two axles are provided, each axle having two wheels, one wheel being located at each end of each axle. A central portion of the two axles are captured between the two leaf portions in spaced relation to each other and in a generally parallel relation to the fold. Means such as an adhesive is provided to secure the two leaf portions together fixing the relative position of the two axles while permitting free rotation of the wheels.
Preferably the size of the toy vehicle is larger than the opening of the balloon through the balloon inflated. This relative sizing requires that the opening of the balloon be stretched to insert the toy vehicle in position within the balloon. This relative sizing diminishes the likelihood that the toy vehicle might be accidentally ingested during the inflation of the balloon. Once the balloon is inflated, it is preferable that the balloon have a radius which is several times the length of the toy vehicle to permit the desired action of the toy vehicle within the balloon. While the preferred environment of the toy vehicle of the present invention is that of a balloon, any hollow article might be employed which had a generally smooth interior surface upon which the wheels of the toy vehicle might roll.